24 — Sunday, June 21, 1998 — IN my last column I wrote about mulches and their ability to con- trol weeds, Unfortunately, there are a few weeds that no amount of mulching will deter. They are the “cockroaches” of the plant world and would probably be the only plants to survive a nuclear blast. A weed is often defined as any plant growing in the wrong, place. For example, a squash is a very useful plant Decor with a Dif | Our 35 years of design expericce: and tidy listening: ta our clients’ North Shore News sow it grows but when a volunteer squash seed sprouts in your petunia bed it is considered a weed. Most weeds grow rapidly, ating erence needs aud preferences i is what makes the difference at Golden literiors. Sale “On Trow- Call 985-6112 To book your in-home design constdeation Tina & Chalsi “Your} lane, Your Way" Golden Interiors Sa Satori Sane 27 990-30 $1” a book SU¢ for paperbacks - Worth Vancouver City Library ‘m1 West lth $t;, Werth Van. TI he Silk Garden i LOSING OUT CLEARANCE | Everything i in. the Store| ? north shore news 4y FOME & GARDEN These weeds are ho puny thrive in a wide range of soils and compete readily with desirable plants. They also have the ability to quickly reproduce by seeds and/or Vegetative roots. In addition to crowding our other plants, they can be hosts to harmful insects or plant diseases during the win- ter. Annual weeds grow rapidiy, mature and drop their sceds in a matter of weeks in some cases, Breaking the cycle by not letting the plant go to seed is one of the best ways to deal with this ype of weed. Perennial weeds store their food in their fleshy stems or deep roots and spring to life with the first warm weather in the spring. For this reason, they are much more difficulr to con- trol. For those gardeners who want to remain organic, the only choice is to dig carefully with a garden fork, trying not to break or cut the roots into sections and then hand pick or screen the soil ro remove the roots. There arc “pre-emergent” ¥ HUGE SELECTION Vv LOW WAREHOUSE PRICES - GLEAROUT : “PRICES. a many items’. now thru ‘sure: - aa Featuring Roper~Jennair~ Inglis Frigidaire~ Panasonic Kitchen Aid~Danby~ISE Dacor-Whirlpool~G.E. Magic Chef~Wolf - AEG Sub Zero~Goldstar~DCS NuTone~Faber~Venmar Kelvinator ~ Marvel - Moffat v Compact & Full Size ¥ Built-in & Free Standing NEWS photo Terry Peters A selective weed killer such as Killex, when sprayed on the iawn, will kill only broad leaf plants and weeds. chemicals such as Casoron that will prevent sceds and seedlings from germinating or developing but they are not generally available to the home gardener. “Post-emergent” chemicals are divided into selective and nonselective. A selective weed killer such as Killex, when sprayed on the lawn, will Kill only broad leaf plants and weeds. A non-selec- tive herbicide such as Round- Up will kill any plant or weed thar is green. Many herbicides are svs- temic and this means the active chemical is translocated down into the stems and roots of the plant where it is more effective in killing the pians. For the best results, spray the plant in the late spring when it has lots of new foliage or in the fall whea the plant is moving food to the roots for winter storage. The half-dozen plsats chat ~ are likely to take over your yard if not kept under control are: B Acgopodinm podagraria — better known as gout or bish- ops weed. It is also called Queen Anne’s Lace although this name is often reserved tor another member of the carrot family, There are wo forms of this ground cover plant, one plain green and the other var- iegated. WB Campanula rapunculoidesis often called blue bells because it puts up a one metre flower spike with 2.5 em. long blue flowers. The flower stalk and heart shaped | leaves are attached to a fleshy root which in turn is attached to a long carrot like ta9 root. Pulling the leaves and Hower stalk has little effect on the plant as the tap root is able: to put up new growth very quickly. & There are few gardeners that have not hid a run in with Convolvulus septum or morn: ing glory. In England it is ber- ter Known .as bindweed, “ihe thick perennial roots run under the ground oad. chen emerge to climb up any plist or object that gets in rhe way, The white; flowers produce sced that. can be spreed by wind or birds. B Equiserum arvense, com- monly kn3wn as horse tail, is une of thé few plants that has survived | since the Carboniferous age some 60 million vears ago. The giant and ancient relatives to this plant were probably the source of much of our coal. Knowing how difficult they are to ger rid of, £ am sure they will be around for another few million, years. They are cush fike and have no true Jeaves or seeds. They reproduce by spores and roots which can go down two metres into the ground. M Polygonum cuspidatum is often called: Mexican bamboo “dite, but. is neither a bamboo nor. i from Mexico. It is Japanese in origin and can grow its seg. mented stalks to two or three ©: metres in a single scason. The |”. : root Structure is equally aggressive and even the small- ¢ . . est little section: of. root :can:: grow a new plant. It prefers:. ° moist soil and streams often: ~’ carry the seeds and ‘roots to.’ new locations. I once buried’ small section of root! under: almost nwo. metres of new soil. only to have it -re- emerge the a *. following spring. Rubus pracerus: oF common. : Himalayan blackberry’is a pro-.- oo ic; arnducer of’berrics and... sulsequent'seeds that are scat~. end by birds: Once. estab-., lished, the plant.can put on five to dy metres o£ “growth i in one | 3 car, Each time'a cane touches” the ground, 2 new plant:takes': root allowing it to leap: frog’- across a property and smother all other growth, ~ Some of these plants arc. unwittingly passed on to other : gardeners as~ gifts or part of : other root bails bur the: main: source is cheap top Foil.” if-you have any. of. th weeds in your garden you ‘will have your work cut? “Our for. you. ; Repeated Sprving t with the right herbicide is often’ the only effective way of getting the upper hand on these plant. - 4 Apple Warranty and Non-Warranty Service Offering hoth Depot and On-Site Repairs/Diagnostics immediate delivery/pick-up Ch Macintosh Computer Sales and Leasing to Commercial Clients, Corporate Clients and Home-Based Busiiicsses ey Ch All Phases of System Troubleshooting and Maintenance COLONY | & Memory, Hard Drive and Logic Board Upgrades ‘ iG AppleTalk and Ethernet Networking Design and Implementation HOME FURNISHINGS Custom Database Design/Custom Programming and Scripting ; ’ 6 ohare wae oe seein money since nt Internet Setup and Training/Basic Macintosh Training Naw Servicing Over 800 Steady Clients North Vancouver Internet: bitp://www.mrdataworks.com {2 blocks behind Avalon Hotel) IMOUNTAIN falafel ¥ Gas & Electric v Most items in stock for FF ALL STOCK | ‘LAST DAY JUNE 30 “ Authorized Reseller and Service Provider Mon. 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